God's Preachers And God's People

Q: What does the Bible say about God's preachers?

God's preachers are humble servants of Jesus Christ, focused on proclaiming the gospel and not seeking titles or recognition. In Romans 1:1, Paul identifies himself simply as 'Paul,' reflecting the humility that characterizes true preachers. They do not crave titles like 'bishop' or 'reverend;' instead, they recognize their role as servants and messengers of Christ. They acknowledge that without Him, they can do nothing. God's preachers are lesser in their own eyes because their primary concern is to glorify God through their ministry, trusting that the power comes from Him alone. Their identity is rooted not in human accolades, but in being called by God to share His message faithfully.

Q: How do we know the gospel is God's message?

The gospel is God's message because it glorifies Him, fulfills Old Testament prophecies, and enables Him to be just while justifying sinners. The gospel is proclaimed as the 'gospel of God' (Romans 1:1). It is rooted in God's glory, fulfilling His promises as foretold by the prophets, and is the only message that allows God to remain just while justifying sinners. Paul explains that it is God's nature to save without compromising His holiness. This gospel embraces individuals regardless of their past, affirming that it can save even the chief of sinners. Moreover, it assures believers of their salvation by grace, ensuring that the credit for their redemption goes entirely to God, as salvation is wholly His work.

Q: Why is the concept of being God's bondservant important for Christians?

Being God's bondservant signifies a willing and loving submission to Christ, reflecting true freedom in serving Him. In Romans 1:1, Paul describes himself as a 'bondservant' of Jesus Christ, a term that signifies a willing servant who chooses to remain with their master out of love. This relates to Exodus 21, where a servant who loves their master can choose to serve them forever. For Christians, this means that their service to Christ is not out of obligation, but from a heartfelt commitment and gratitude for His grace. It highlights the transformation that occurs when one responds to Christ's call; they become free to serve Him, illustrating that true freedom is found in submission to God's will. Believers embrace their identity as bondservants because it reflects their relationship with Christ, who has redeemed them.

Q: What does Romans teach us about God's purpose in salvation?

Romans reveals that God's purpose in salvation is His glory, as He calls and transforms sinners into His children. The book of Romans illustrates that God's purpose in salvation encompasses His glory, as seen in Romans 8:28-30: 'For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son.' From God's foreknowledge to the ultimate glorification of believers, every action is taken with His glory in mind. Paul emphasizes that God saves sinners not for their sake, but to manifest His grace and justice. Salvation is by His design, showcasing His kindness and mercy, and culminating as believers are transformed into children of God, reflecting His character in the world.

On a hill, far away, stood an old soldier's house. and children. For the dear Lamb
of God, the dearest and best, who for a world of lost sinners was slain, so also is the Christ
of the cross. He'll be strong means that the
last he lays down. and glory that day. The Christ
of the cross, so despised by the world, has a wondrous attraction
for me. For his head, Lamb of God, his glory above, So I'll cherish the Christ of
the cross, till His throne of peace at last is held. On the old wooden cross Stained
with blood so divine A wondrous beauty I see It was on that old cross He discovered and died
Departed and sanctified me So I'll cherish the price of
the cross In His trophies at last He lays down I will sing To the Christ, the cross, I will
ever be sued His shame and reproach grandly due If you'll call me
someday, by His grace I am saved So I'll finish the Christ of
the cross He'll get broke if at last he lays down I will cling
to the Christ of the cross And I'll praise Him in glory I've never heard anyone singing
quite like Milton. I like to hear him sing it. But,
well, in the absence of our pastor once again this evening, we have
with us Brother Henry Mahan, pastor of 13th Street Baptist
Church. Always good to have you here. Always. I think everyone
in this building can agree with me. So you come and preach the
gospel as the Lord leads you? I want to, before I bring the message, express my appreciation to you for your
hospitality this day. I've enjoyed, Darsen, I've enjoyed
being with you so very much, as we always do. It's been a
happy, happy day. The Lord has blessed our fellowship
together and blessed his word preached, and I've enjoyed being
here so much. I know you're looking forward
to the return of your pastor. The information I have is that
they're supposed to fly back into Charlotte, North Carolina
at 5.30 Tuesday evening and then drive home from there and be
here about 9 o'clock. I wish I could express to you
how these missionaries and Native pastors and churches look forward
to these visits by pastors from the States. It's so encouraging
to Walter and Betty and to all the Native pastors and churches.
You know how much you enjoy having other preachers come here. and
other believers. It's encouraging. The message
is confirmed. The message which your pastor
preaches is one I preach, Brother Tim James preaches, Brother Don
Bell preaches, Brother Walter Groover, Brother Ken Weaver,
Brother Bill Clark, Brother Milton Howard. All these preachers that
come here preach the gospel of the Lord Jesus Christ, and it's
confirmed by the mouth of two or three or four or five witnesses.
And these native churches down in Mexico, Darcy and I have made
it a point to go down there every year. I think we've missed one
year since 1970. Twenty-three years I missed this
year. But I think it's time for me to retire from making those
long trips and let these young fellows, the younger preachers
go. And so we're not going this year.
Paul and Cody have gone. But I can tell you this. the
missionaries, they just look forward to the apostles coming
and encouraging them. And then the little, the native
churches where you go out and preach, they just fill those
little buildings with ministers and everybody comes and they
dress up and they have a good service and they stand around
and fellowship and talk and they fix a little something to eat,
you know, and serve some Pepsi-Colas and Coca-Colas And they just
roll out the red carpet, don't they, honey? And they just look
forward to it. They plan ahead, plan ahead the
coming of the North American preachers. And it's just a blessing,
blessing. And I thank God for the privilege
of being associated with the Groovers. I told the men in the
study, Walter is one of the greatest missionaries God raised up ever. And you'll have to die for everybody
to realize it. Like, you know, nobody's famous
till he dies. And so one day people will appreciate
Walter for who he is and what he's done and the work he's done
and what God's used him to do there and the blessing he's been
to those people. Just a great blessing, and I'm
grateful that you supported your pastor in this missionary endeavor
and prayed for him in his absence. He's a blessing to them. They
love him. One of the men asked me if I've learned any of the
language down there. No, I haven't. I can say buenos
dias, that's good morning, and buenos noches, that's good night,
and that's all in between. I'm lost. I can't hear. I've
never been able to hear well. Paul now, he picks it up. He's got that musical ear like
his mom, and he can hear well. Last year when we were down there,
when he got up to preach, he'd bring them a greeting in Spanish.
He'd stand up there and speak Spanish. He had it all written
down, speak to them. They just were fascinated. There
he was standing up there preaching, speaking Spanish. He hadn't learned
to preach in it yet now, but he used it as a translator. But
he's learning it, and he amazes me. But he can stand and talk
to them around after the service, and ask them about their children,
how old they are, and all these things. I can't even hear him. All right, let's turn to Romans
1, Romans chapter 1. Brother Rick said that Brother
Walter Gruber, last time he was here, preached from this passage.
And Brother Rick said one of the best messages he ever heard
was this one, Walter preached from Romans 1. Well, we won't
be able to add anything to that message, but Perhaps we'll see
some things that we didn't see before. I always do when I study
a passage the second, third, fourth, hundredth time. God's
Word is not like the writings of men. You can read a man's
writing or book one time, you may read it twice, but you're
not going to read it three or four times. But the more you
read the Word of God, the more you're blessed, the more you
see that you haven't seen before. And someone said, if you want
to learn the gospel, if you want to learn the gospel, study the
book of Romans. And I can tell you that my first
exposure to the gospel was a message from Romans chapter 8. That was
my first time to ever hear the gospel. When I was pastor in
Chattanooga, Tennessee, I told you a little bit about it this
morning, but Darcy and I were there almost three years, two
and a half years while I was going to school, and I pastored
a little country church in Chattanooga, and we would read, we'd read
the Bible at night in our personal devotions, and we came to the
Book of Romans, reading through the New Testament, and I told
her when we came to the Book of Romans, now we'll just skip
that book, because I just don't understand it. And I didn't. It's justification by faith.
It's the gospel of God's grace and glory. And I didn't understand.
We skipped it. And when I heard the gospel in
1950 and found that word purpose, everything God does, he does
on purpose, it opened the Book of Romans for me. I don't understand
all of the Book of Romans by any means, but I do know something
about the Book of Romans now. And when I started writing these
Sunday school lessons years ago, that's where I started. When
I started writing the Sunday school lessons for our congregation,
I chose to start in Romans 1, verse 1. That's the gospel. So
let's look at it. Tonight I have four things I
want you to see. First of all, we're going to
look at God's creature. I'll give you a simple outline,
easy to remember. We're going to look at God's
preacher. And then secondly, we're going to look at God's
gospel. God's gospel. And then thirdly, we're going
to look at God's Redeemer. And fourthly, we're going to
look at God's people. First of all, in verse 1, which
Brother Terry read, it begins this way, Paul. Paul. Now here's God's preacher. First
of all, God's preachers God's true preachers are never fond
of titles. He didn't say Bishop Paul. He didn't say Dr. Paul. He didn't even say Reverend Paul.
He just said Paul. God's preachers know that actually
without Him they can do nothing, and without Him they are nothing.
Paul said, Though I be nothing. Didn't he say that? Who is Paul? Who is Apollos? Who is Thepus?
Just ministers by whom you heard and believed the gospel. They
came to John the Baptist, and they said, who are you? Who are
you? He could have said a lot of things
there. He could have said, number one, I was supernaturally born
when my mother and father were old, Zacharias and Elizabeth.
He could have said, I'm a cousin to the Son of God. Isn't that
right? He could have said, thirdly,
that Jesus Christ said, I'm the greatest man born of woman. He
could have said that, couldn't he? He could have said, I'm the
last of the Old Testament prophets. He could have said, you can read
about me in Isaiah 40. God's forerunner, the Lord's
forerunner. But he didn't. They said, who are you? What
did he say? A voice. A voice. I'm just a voice. I'm not the Christ, I'm not that
light. I come to bear witness of that
light. I'm not worthy to unlace his shoe." And God's preachers
know that. They know that. Paul said this.
He said, I'm not worthy to be an apostle. I persecuted the
church of God. He said, I'm less than the least
of all the saints. He said, Christ came to save
sinners of whom I am the chief. So God's servants are not, they're
not desirous of titles, they're not desirous of recognition and
praise, they're just Paul. Henry, that's what your pastor,
I see he writes articles and he signs it, Paul. And that's
good enough, isn't it? Just Paul. Just Paul. You know, Charles Spurgeon, I
don't know whether Paul's your pastors told you about this.
Charles Spurgeon never went to college. Did you know that? Never
saw the inside of a seminary. Never did. He was gifted of God. He was a powerful preacher. One
of the greatest preachers that ever lived. And he became a pastor
when he was sixteen years old in a little village called Water
Beach. And they just packed this little
house where he preached. And people stood outside listening
to this young man preach, 16, 17, 18 years of age. And then
Dr. John Gill's church in London,
New Park Street, was without an apostate. Gill had been dead
for years. But they heard about this young man, and they invited
him to come preach. And when he was 18 years of age,
they called him an apostate. That church seated a thousand. They weren't that many people
there. It drifted down to 150 or 200 people. But they called
this young man to be their pastor. And they packed that place to
hear him. After just a few months, it was full. They had to knock
out a wall and enlarge it. Well, he decided he'd better
go to school. That's right. He decided he'd better go to
school. Since he was going to be a pastor in London, Since
he was well known, since he was making all the papers, he'd better
go to school. This is a true story. So he made
arrangements to meet with the president. Any school would like
to have had him. Any university or college would
have clamored to get this. He was the most noted preacher
of that day. And so he made an appointment
to meet the president of this college at a person's home. And he went to the home. He was
supposed to meet him at a certain time, and he was there early.
And the maid showed him to a library to wait for this president of
the college. He went and sat down. When the
president came, another person went to the door. and seated
him in another room to wait for Mr. Spurgeon. There they were,
come to meet one another. Spurgeon was over here in the
library, and this president was over here in another living room,
or parlor. And they both sat there and waited
for each other one hour. The president was angry. He got
up and left. This young man stood him up,
and Mr. Spurgeon was sitting in there
waiting for the man, and he never came. And he said, I got up. I read his autobiography when
he wrote this. He said, I got up and went out
into the garden. And I walked. And God seemed
to say to me, seekest thou great things for thyself? Seek them
not. Seek them not. And he said, I
never went to college. He was never ordained. He said,
laying empty hands on my empty head won't add one thing to my
ministry. That was... He was a humble man,
that's right. God's true servants know where
their gifts come from, from God. Not from me. And then he said,
I'm a servant of Jesus Christ. Just these one words, I'm a servant.
You know what that word is? That word is bond slave. I'll
tell you where it comes from, over here in Exodus 21, if you
want to turn over there to Exodus 21. I'm a servant. Now, we're God's servants, and
we're your servants. Paul said, we preach not ourselves,
we preach Jesus Christ our Lord and your servants, for Christ's
sake. We're His servants and your servants.
We're His bondservants. Here in Exodus 21, now these
are the judgments, verse 1, which thou shalt set before them. If
you buy a Hebrew servant, six years he shall serve, and in
the seventh he'll go out free for nothing. If he came in by
himself, he'll go out by himself. If he were married, his wife
would go out with him. If his master has given him a
wife, she hath borne him sons and daughters, the wife and her
children shall be her masters. He shall go out by himself. You're
with me now? You've got a slave, a servant,
a Hebrew slave. He's served six years, he's free. But, look at the next verse.
If the servant, verse 5, shall plainly say, I love my master,
I love my wife, I love my children, I will not go out free. Then
his master shall bring him to the judges. This thing's going
to go down legally. It's going to go down as his
statement. It's going to go down for good. Bring him to the judges,
bring him to the door, or unto the doorpost, and his master
shall bore his ear through with an awl, and he'll serve him forever. He's now a bondservant. What
is a bondservant? A willing, loving bondservant. He's there because he wants to
be there. And that's the word Paul chooses
to refer to himself here. He says, Paul, I'm a bondservant
of Jesus Christ. I'm where I want to be. The only
freedom I desire is the freedom to serve Him. And that's true
of all of God's people. You're not here by coercion.
You're not here because it's your duty. You're here because
you wouldn't be anywhere else. You're a child of God because
you wouldn't be anything else. You're there by his choice, but
by your choice. He made you willing, and you're
willing. All right, thirdly, he says,
I'm a servant, Paul's servant. I'm called, I'm called to be
an apostle. Now listen carefully. Here's
the old man talking now. Listen carefully to him. I know
something about this sort of thing. I'm called to be an apostle. In the church, The Lord Jesus
Christ has apostles, prophets, evangelists, missionaries, pastors,
and teachers. Let me show you that over in
Ephesians. Ephesians chapter 4. Ephesians chapter 4. Verse 10 of Ephesians 4 says
this, is the same also that ascended
up far above all heavens, that he might fulfill," that word
is fulfill, all things. And in the church he gave some
apostles. There are no apostles today now.
There were twelve. An apostle must have seen the
Lord. He must have received his gospel directly from Christ.
That's the reason some people said to Paul, you're not an apostle.
He said, I am an apostle. I saw the Lord as one born out
of due time. And he said, when I received
my gospel, I didn't go to those who were apostles before me.
I went into Arabia, and the gospel I preached was not taught me
by men, but by Christ himself. I saw the Lord, and he taught
me the gospel. But there are no apostles today.
And he gave some prophets. We don't claim to be prophets,
except that we tell forth the gospel. In that sense, we are
prophets. Seek to prophesy, he said, and
so preaching is prophesying. But he gave some evangelists,
that's missionaries, and some pastors and teachers. So Paul
said, I'm called to be an apostle. Isaiah was called, Amos was called
to be a prophet. And Barnabas, Silas called me
missionaries. They went out as missionaries.
Separate me, Paul and Barnabas, for the work where I have ordained
them. Then they're being called to be pastors. And the question
comes, I've had people ask me over and over again, can you
explain a call to the ministry? No. Did you hear a voice? No. What is a call to the ministry? The Apostle Paul tells us, he
said, God put me in the ministry. God put me in the ministry. And
this is why I tell our young men at church, the Lord's raised
up some young men at 13th Street to be pastors. They're out pastoring
now. There are some elders there now who preach, and I tell them,
be willing to preach as an elder, be willing to teach in the congregation,
be willing to do whatever God opens the door for you to do.
But don't seek an office. Don't seek to be a preacher,
don't seek to be a pastor, don't seek to be a missionary. God, if he is calling you for
that particular task, he'll supernaturally, in an unusual way, open the door
and put you in the ministry. You'll be willing to do whatever
he wants you to do. You see, because everybody's
in the ministry, Turn with me to 1 Corinthians chapter 12. Every believer is in the ministry. I hear preachers talk about their
ministry. Well, we preachers don't have
a ministry. It's God's ministry. It's just
God's ministry. And you're in the ministry just
as much as your pastor is, just as much as anybody else. We're
all in the ministry. It's God's ministry, and all
believers in the ministry serving where God puts them. He gives
different gifts. He gives gifts to pray, and gifts
to read, and gifts to teach, and gifts to preach, and gifts
to be a leader, and gifts here and gifts there, and gifts here
and there. Look at 1 Corinthians 12, verse 12. As far as the body
is one, and hath many members, and all the members of that one
body being many, and one body was so also is Christ. For by
one spirit are we all baptized into one body, whether we be
Jews or Gentiles, whether we be bond or free, or whether we
be male or female, whether we be old or young. You could add
all those things. We've been made all to drink
into one spirit. The body's not one member, but
many. If the foot shall say, because
I'm not the hand, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not
of the body? Would you? Make a decision. Which will you give up, your
foot or your hand? Neither one. They're both vital. Well, if
the eye shall say, if the ear shall say, because I'm not the
eye, I'm not of the body, is it therefore not of the body?
If the whole body were a pastor, where would be the elders? Where
would be the givers? Where would be the singers? Where
would be the ladies to prepare him? Where would be all these
That's what he's saying here. If the whole body went out, where
was the healing? If the whole body were healing,
where was the smelling? But now hath God set the members,
every one of them in the body, as it has pleased him. He put them there. And when Paul
came to the minister, he said, he called me to be an apostle. He put me in this particular
place. This is where the Lord put me.
And I remind our people of that at 13th Street over and over
and over again, that we're all in the ministry. This is our
Lord's ministry, our Lord's ministry. And he puts us where he wants
us. And I'll tell you this, these,
our gifts, whatever gifts we have, that, you were up there
singing a while ago, how you blessed our heart. You chose
the right song, you sang it well, you sang it because you loved
it, and you were a blessing to us. But you know where you got
that gift? He gave it to you. If I'm able
to preach the gospel, and I preached a little bit this morning, I
know what I'm preaching. I'm not dumb, you know. I bless me. And you know when you're blessing
someone. But I know where that came from.
Him. It's not of us. It's not from
us. It's not for our glory. Everything
we have, God gave us. If we're able to be a blessing
to anyone, it's by his grace and not by our merit. And I'll
tell you this, he can take those gifts back just as quickly as
he gave them. That's right. Just as quickly.
He put us on the shelf just as quickly as he took us out of
the pit. It's all by his hand. Well, listen, Paul said this.
I've got to finish talking about God's preacher. We'll be here
Till Paul comes Tuesday night, he can just come in and read
his prophecy. All right, listen. He said, I'm separated to the
gospel of God. Now, the pastor to me, this man
called to be a minister and put in the minister. He has one calling. He has one
goal. He has one obsession. He has
one love. Here's one objective, and that's
preach this gospel. And when he tries to do or be
anything else, he's an embarrassment in both situations. I'm a preacher,
and that's all I am. I hope that's always true of
your pastor. I hope he's dedicated and separated to and obsessed
with one thing, and that's preaching the gospel. Over in the book
of Acts, let me show you this. over in the Book of Acts. And
I would say to every preacher, don't be tempted to go into business,
don't be tempted to run the scout troop, don't be tempted to get
into the little league and be a referee or a manager, don't
be tempted to get into politics. Don't do it. You see, when a
man wars a warfare, he doesn't have a business back home. You
see, he's in the war, he's in the battle, he's in, that's right,
on the front lines. And here in Acts chapter 6, verse
1, it says, In those days when the members of the disciples
were multiplied, there arose a murmuring of the Grecians among,
against the Hebrews, because the widows were neglected. And
then the twelve apostles called the multitude of the disciples
unto them and said, Now it's not reason, it's not reasonable
that we should leave the word of God and take care of this
business. Wherefore, brethren, you look
out among you seven men of honest report, full of the Holy Ghost
and wisdom, whom we may appoint over this business. I don't care
what the business is. Don't ever start a school around
here. That's not your business. Your business, the preacher's
business, is to preach the gospel. His business is to study and
pray and preach the gospel. You point somebody else over
this business, listen. Let me show you that. Turn, if
you will, to 1 Corinthians 9. 1 Corinthians chapter 9. Doris and I have been in the
ministry almost as long as we've been married. Well, 48 years,
pretty soon. Actually, in the ministry, just
44, since I learned the gospel. But we'd never wanted—God supplied
every need—never wanted Never been without. Never gone. We never, you can tell that we
never missed a meal. You can look at both of us and
tell that. But God's been good. He will supply. He will provide.
He'll provide for his preacher. In 1 Corinthians 9, verse 13,
listen. Do you not know that they which
minister about holy things live of the things of the temple?
What's that talking about? Back in the Old Testament, there
was one tribe, the tribe of Levi. And they did not. They didn't
have a lot. They didn't have land. The Levant
tribes had land and portions. And Levi, the tribe of Levi,
lived by the tithe in the Old Testament. They lived by the
things of the temple. When Israel had a storehouse
and they bought 10 percent of whatever they had, it was to
support the ministry, the temple, and the tribe of Levi. And that's
what he's saying here. Those people that ministered
about the things of the temple, they lived of the things of the
temple, and they which waited at the altar were partakers of
the altar. Even so hath God ordained that
they that preach the gospel should live of the gospel. That's right. Verse 11 says, If we've sown
unto you spiritual things, is it a great thing we should reap
your carnal And that's over here in my text.
Paul said, I'm Paul, but I'm a servant, a bondslave of Jesus
Christ and a servant of his people. And I'm called. God put me in
the ministry. God put me in the ministry. And
I'm separated, obsessed with, separated unto the gospel. That's my life, that's my calling,
that's my obsession, that's my goal, the gospel. And that's
a true minister of Christ. All right, let's look at this
gospel now that he preaches. First of all, in verse 1, he
said, I'm separated to the gospel of God. It's God's gospel that
we preach. What gospel do we preach? The
gospel of God. Over here in 1 Timothy. Turn
over here a minute. In 1 Timothy, chapter 1. 1 Timothy, chapter 1, verse 11.
You know what he calls this gospel? He calls it the gospel of the
glory of God. 1 Timothy chapter 1, look at
verse 11. According, now this is the way
the King James reads, according to the glorious gospel of the
blessed God which was committed to my trust. Committed to my
trust. Oh, I tell you, what has he committed
to our trust? He's entrusted this church with
his gospel, the glorious gospel, and you know the correct translation
there is the gospel of his glory. You want me to tell you, I think
I may have told this to you before, but you want me to tell you how
How to judge a man's ministry or his gospel. You say, is he
preaching the gospel? Let me give you one question
to ask. One question. When you hear a man preach, here's
the question. Who gets the glory? Now, you just weigh his merit. Who gets the glory? Who gets
the praise? Does God get all the glory and
all the praise, or is that glory and praise taken by the preacher
or by the people? If it's God's gospel, it's the
gospel of His glory. He gets all the praise and all
the glory. Spurgeon one time preached a
message on salvation is of the Lord. I want you, let me give
you this outline and you remember it. Jot it down or remember it.
Listen to this. He said salvation is of the Lord,
number one, in its origination. It began with God. God purposed
it, God planned it. In its origination, salvation
is all of God. Secondly, in its execution, it's
all of God. It pleased the Lord to bruise
him. That's right. It's Christ, it's God that sent
Christ. It's God that sent him to the
cross. You, with wicked hands, have done what God ordained to
be done. It's of the Lord in its execution.
Thirdly, salvation's of the Lord in its application. He called you. He arrested you. When it pleased God, who separated
me from my mother's womb to reveal his Son in me, he what? He called
me, by his grace. It's of the Lord in its application.
And fourthly, it's of the Lord in its sustaining power. Some
of you here, I've been known you for many years. I've known
you for a long time. Some of you for a long time.
Who's kept you all these years? Who's kept you in this gospel?
Ellen, who's kept you here? You've been sitting right there
for twenty years or more. Who kept you here? He has. He keeps us. We're kept by the
power of God. He sustains us. Salvation is
of the Lord. Not only is it beginning and
origination in His execution at the cross, in His application
when He calls us, but He keeps us. He sustains us day by day. The only reason I don't leave
the gospel is God keeps me. I'm kept by the power of God.
Not without faith. Not apart from faith. Through
faith. Who's going to finish it? That's the fifth thing. Salvation's of the Lord in its
ultimate perfection. Who's going to raise us out of
the grave? Who's going to give us a new body? Who's going to
take us to glory? Who's going to make us like Christ?
He is. So salvation's of the Lord. Who
gets the glory? He does. Oh, that's so clear
to me. I wish it was clear to the whole
world. But it's clear to me. Salvation's of the Lord. It's
the gospel of God. It's the gospel of His glory.
I was reading the scripture over there. Turn to Psalm 115 a minute. Psalm 115. They asked David one
time, they said, where's your God? Look at Psalm 115. Verse 1. Now watch this. Look carefully. Psalm 115 verse, not unto us,
O Lord. Not unto us. but unto thy name
give glory, for thy mercy, and for thy truth's sake. Wherefore
should the heathen say, Where is now their God? Where's your
God? We know where our God is, the heathen say. Our God's in
the temple where we put Him. Our God's on these pedestals
where we put Him. Our God is where we let Him be,
doing what we let Him do. Where's your God? David, watch
it. Our God's in the heavens. He's in the heavens. Now watch
it. Our God's in the heavens. He hath done whatsoever he hath
pleased. That's who he is. That's who
he is. And when I read that, this was
years ago, I read that and I thought, well, God does what he pleases,
what has it pleased God to do? What does it please God to do?
If He does what, if our God's in the heaven, sovereign, omnipotent,
almighty, eternal God, King of kings, Lord of lords, and He
does what He pleases, what is He pleased to do? And I got out
of concordance, and I looked up the word pleased. And I found
in the Scripture five times it says it pleased the Lord. It
pleased the Lord. First of all, I found over in
Samuel, it pleased the Lord to make you His people. It pleased
the Lord to make you His people. And then I found over there in
the Scriptures, it says, it pleased God that in Christ should all
fullness dwell. It pleased God to put all of
His fullness, grace, and glory in His Son. Not in the church,
in His Son. And then I read where it pleased
God to bruise him, to send him to the cross. It pleased God
to do that. And then I read where it pleased
God to reveal his son in us. It pleased Him. And then I read,
it pleased God to do it for the foolishness of Persians. It pleased
God. Oh, this is, look back at the
text. Let me move on. What is this gospel? It's the
gospel of God. Look at verse 2. He says, which
he has promised afore by his prophets and the Holy Scriptures.
Brother Scott Richardson and I were riding along one day in
the car, and I looked over at him and I said, Brother Scott,
I said, do you, do you do much taking of inventory about what
you preach? Oh, yes, he did. Yes, I did.
I said, I do too. Do you ever consider this question,
is my gospel God's gospel? Oh, yeah, he said, I do. I said,
let's see if we can come up with some reasons why we believe that
our gospel is the gospel. Gospel of God. And we came up with these reasons.
The reason I believe the gospel I'm preaching to you, the gospel
I preached this morning, the gospel your pastor preaches is
the gospel of God, number one. It glorifies God. It gives him
all the credit, all the praise, and all the glory. Secondly,
this gospel we preach is true to the Old Testament. It's the
gospel of Moses. It's the gospel of Abraham. It's
the gospel of Isaac. It's the gospel of Isaiah. You
hear me? The same gospel we preach is
the gospel that fulfills all these Old Testament scriptures.
That's what he says here. This gospel of God is the gospel
he promised by his prophets in the Old Testament scriptures.
Thirdly, my gospel and your gospel enables God to be just and justify
folks like us. You understand that? Now God's
going to be God. Would you have God save you at
the expense of His character? God can't save you at the expense
of His character. That's why Christ died, to enable
God to be holy and just and righteous and save folks like us. And our
gospel is the only gospel that enables God to be just and justify. This gospel of good works doesn't
justify God. It doesn't honor the law and
satisfy the justice of God, does it? The gospel of professions
of faith, and joining the Church, and getting baptized, and paying
your tithes, and paying your dues, and these things, and obligating
God, that doesn't enable God to be just and justified. Our
gospel enables God to be holy and righteous, and yet pardon
us through Christ. And fourthly, we decided this.
Our gospel is the gospel of God, fourthly, because it'll save
the chief of sinners. There's no sinner this gospel
can't save. Your sins won't keep you from
Christ. Your righteousness will, but
not your sins. He's able to save the chief of
sinners. And here's the fifth thing. This gospel is the gospel
of God because it's certain. It's sure. It's by grace that
it might be sure to all to see. Oh, my. This gospel is the gospel
of God. It's the gospel which He promised
by His prophets and the Holy Scriptures. Now look at verse
3. And this word is so important here. This gospel is concerning
His Son. Now listen to me. The gospel
itself has nothing to do with who you are. It has to do with
who he is. This gospel has nothing to do
with what you do or I do. It has to do what he did, with
what he did. This gospel has nothing to do
with what you think of it or what I think of it. It has to
do with what God thinks of it. This is my beloved son whom I'm
well pleased. I'm pleased with him too, but
that's not what counts. Oh, I wish I'd get across what
I'm saying here. I'm pleased with Him, but that's
not what counts. God said He's pleased with Him. No man ever pleased God but Christ.
In the flesh, no man can please God. So it has nothing to do
with what we think. It has to do with what He thinks,
and it has nothing to do with where I am. It has to do with
where He is, at the right hand of God. This gospel is concerning
his son, who he is, what he did, why he did it, and where he is
now. That's the gospel. I never will forget, back in
1950, when I saw that. Lift, take verse 2 out of there. Just lift it out. Verse 2 is
in parentheses, isn't it? Now, I'm not an English major,
I'm not an English teacher, but I know a parenthesis can be lifted
out of a sentence. without doing any harm to the
sinner. All right, let's read verses 1 and 3, and leave out
verse 2. Paul, a servant of Jesus Christ,
called him an apostle, separated to the gospel of God concerning
his son. That's it. That's what this gospel's
all about. Who he is, what he did, why he
did it, and where he is now. We're in Christ. Christ is my
hope. When Christ, who is my life,
shall appear. Christ in you, the hope of glory.
Christ, our rock. Christ, our forerunner. Christ,
our priest. Christ, our salvation. Christ,
our righteousness. It's Christ. It's concerning
his Son. Oh my, now look at this Son,
this Redeemer. I'm going to hurry here. There's
two words I want you to see. Verse 3, "...is concerning his
Son, Christ Jesus Christ our Lord, which was made of the seed
of David, according to the flesh, and declared to be the Son of
God with power." Let me take you over to Matthew, chapter
22. Now here, this young people,
I want you especially to listen right here. All the boys and
girls, young people, teenagers, early The early 40s, they're
all young, aren't they? I said one time, well, he's younger
than I am. Somebody said, everybody's younger than you are. But anyway,
young people, I want young people to really listen to that. If
you understand this, you can get a hold of the gospel. Understand
this. Now here in Matthew 22, these
people all begin to ask Christ the Lord questions. Look at verse
17. Tell us, therefore, what thinkest
thou? Is it lawful to give tribute to Caesar?" Down here in verse 24 and below,
they ask him whose wife is a woman going to be in the resurrection
if she's had more than one husband. Verse 36, Master, what's the
greatest commandment of the law? All right, he dealt with all
those things. Now look at verse 41. While the
Pharisees were gathered together, Jesus asked them, saying, What
think ye of Christ? whose son is he?" Now listen,
look up there a minute. He's not asking, what do you
think of me? He's Jesus of Nazareth. He's
Jesus, that's his name. Christ is his office. He's Jesus
the Christ. But that's not what he's asking
him, what do you think of me? He's asking him, what do you think
of the Christ that's been promised? the Christ that Moses wrote of,
the Christ that Isaiah wrote of, the Messiah. The woman at
the well said, we know the Christ, the Messiah's coming. They came
to John the Baptist and said, are you the Christ? Huh? He says,
what do you think of the Christ? When he does come, when he's
on this earth, who is he? Whose son is he? Now listen,
they answered, why, he's the son of David. He's of the root
of Jesse, tribe of Judah, son of David. All right, he said
to them, then how doth David in spirit call him Lord? You
answer me this, he said, how can he be David's son and be
David's Lord, David's God? They couldn't handle that. Look
at the next verse. The Lord said, David wrote about
him, said, The Lord said to my Lord, set thou on my right hand,
till I make thine enemies thy footstool. If David called him
Lord, how is he his son? And from then on no man was able
to answer him a word. Neither did any of them ask him
any more questions. They couldn't handle it. Can you handle it? David's writing about his Savior.
Mary said, my soul rejoices in God my Savior. How can Jesus
of Nazareth be Mary's son, fruit of her womb, and be her Savior,
her God? How can the Christ be David's
son and be his God? I'll tell you how. He's a man
and he's God. He's the God-man. And that's
what Romans 1 is saying. This gospel is concerning his
son, verse 3, our Lord, Christ our Lord, which was made of the
seed of David according to the flesh, he became a man. You see
that? According to the flesh. Boy or
woman, made under the law to redeem us, to keep the law from
us. God Almighty can fulfill the
law, but he can't suffer. But Jesus Christ, as a man, can
suffer and satisfy. He became a man. And He's made
of the seed of David, but He wasn't made the Son of God. He
was declared to be what He always was, declared to be the Son of
God. According to the Spirit of holiness,
by the resurrection of the dead. Now, that resurrection of the
dead, I have to take you to Acts 17. I know my time's gone, but
let's look at Acts 17, verse 31. The resurrection of Christ from
the dead is our evidence and assurance that he is who he said
he is, and that the Father has accepted his work. Look at verse
31, Acts 17. Because God hath appointed a
day in which he will judge the world in righteousness by that
man whom he hath ordained, well, he hath given assurance unto
all men in that he hath raised him from the dead. When that
Old Testament priest went into the Holy of Holies with the blood
of Tomber, by himself, under the veil, to sprinkle the blood
on the mercy seat, all the people stood around the tabernacle,
waiting for what? Waiting for him to come out.
And when he came out, it's declaring God accepted the sacrifice until
next year. Each year he came out. When our
Lord Jesus Christ was taken down from the cross, he's our atonement,
our Passover, and put in the tomb. We wait. And when God raised
him from the dead, when our great high priest came out of the grave,
it's saying God has accepted all that he did. He's given us
assurance, and he raised him from the dead. Now let's look last of all at
God's people. Here in verse 5, The Lord's people
are special people unto him. They're special people. They're
in the world, they're not of it. I was talking to Brother
Stan Anderson this afternoon, and I mentioned a scripture.
I want you to take time to look at this. 1 John 3. I think this
will be a blessing to you. Turn to 1 John 3. 1 John 3. Verse 1, it says, Behold what
manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should
be called the sons of God. Now pause there just a moment. It takes just as great a miracle
to make you and I sons of God as it did to make the Son of
God a man. You see, great is the mystery
of godliness. God was manifest in human flesh. But I'll tell you this, it's
just as great a mystery and miracle for folks like you and me to
become sons of God. That's right. And that's what
we are. We're sons of God. We're peculiar people. We're
a royal priesthood. We're a holy nation. We're separated
people. We're different. We know Him. We know God and Jesus Christ
to be sinners. We know some mysteries. Yes,
you do. The weakest sheep here knows the Savior and knows how
he can be just and justified, knows how God saves sinners,
don't we? All right, you're a son of God.
Now, read the rest of that verse. Therefore the world knows you
not, because it knew him not. 1 John 3 verse 1. You're a son of God, but the
world doesn't know you that way. Henry, you're over there in that
filling station. You've got customers coming in
all the time. You're a son of God. Christ lives in your heart. The Spirit of God lives in your
heart. You know Him. You've got something to tell
people, but they won't listen to you. They won't listen to you. You've got people in your family
that won't listen to you. They recognize you as being their
brother, or their cousin, or their uncle, or their somebody
else, you know. And that's how you ought to live.
If they just knew what you know, if they just let you tell them
about Christ, they ain't going to do it, because they don't
know you. They don't know you as a son of God. They don't know
you as a peculiar person, special person of the Lord. They don't
know you as a vessel of God's honor, a vessel that contains
the mysteries and the pearl of God's wisdom. You could tell
them about Him. You could tell them how to gain
eternal life. They don't know you. You know
why they don't know you? They didn't know Him. They didn't know Him either.
He said to the woman at the well, if you knew He's sitting there
talking to that woman. She's arguing with him about
how he's thrown your water out of that well and getting him
named wrong there. Think about it. He said, Woman, if you knew
the gift of God, if you knew who was speaking to you, you'd
ask me. And if they knew who you are.
But they don't. And you're not going to convince
them. Oh, you say, but listen, God's taught me these things.
You crazy. I got something to tell you.
They won't listen. They wouldn't listen to Him.
He says, they won't hear me and they won't hear you. The world
knows you not. They know you as a... Try to
witness to your parents sometime. You know how they know you? They
know you as their little boy, or their little girl. You can't
tell them anything. Your brother, you grew up with
him, you all fussed and fought all your life, you know, and
here God's transformed you into a son of God. You're not a son
of God to him. The people you work with, they
didn't know him. He was in this world, and he
made the world, and the world knew him not. He came into his
own, his own received him not. But I tell you this, look at
this Romans 1, let me close with this. You're special to him.
You're special to him. You're special. He says here
in verse 4, 5, "...by him we receive grace and apostleship,
by him obedience to the faith among all nations by his name,
among whom are you also the call of Jesus Christ to all that be
in Rome, beloved of God, called to be saints, Grace to you and
peace from God the Father, from our Lord Jesus Christ. You're
special people. Be encouraged. Be encouraged. Be encouraged. Would you put
up with a story before I close? Nancy said she's staying another
hour this morning. I appreciate that. But I read a story one time that
blessed me. It was about an artist. And he was painting a picture. And he had a place in that picture
for a hobo, a tramp. He wanted to paint in this picture
a tramp, a real run-down hobo. And he wanted someone to pose
for the picture, so he went out on the street looking for just
such a character, and he found him. He came upon this man sitting
on a park bench, holes in his shoes, no socks on, an old pair
of pants that looked like he'd worn them for years, an old coat
with no buttons stuck together with nails, Beard, dirty, hair
all over, hat on the back of his head. He was just a bum of
all bums. And this artist said, you're
the man I'm looking for. He said, I've got something I
want you to do. I want you to do something. I
want to hire you. I'm going to give you $10. And
I want you at my place. He gave him the address. I want
you at my house. It's not far from here. I want you there at
2 o'clock this afternoon. Now come as you are. Just like,
yeah, I got something I want to do. So the fellow, he left
him. And the fellow thought, now that
good man, he got his ten dollars, that good man wants me to work
for him, and I can't work for him looking like this. So he
went down to Goodwill Industry. He got him a pair of shoes and
some socks. He took a bath. He got him a
pair of pants, put a nice little pair of pants and a shirt, and
he shaved. And he went to the barbershop
and got a haircut, and he looked pretty good. And he came up to
the man's door, the artist, found a piece of paper and found the
place number, and he knocked on the door. And the artist came
to the door and opened it, and he said, I'm here. And the artist
said, well, who are you? He said, I'm the fellow you hired.
No, he said, you're not the fellow I hired. The fellow I hired was
a bum. He said, but I cleaned up, made
myself more presentable, and I feel like I can help you this
way more. He said, no, you can't help me
at all. I want you just like you are.
And that's the way I look. Don't clean up for him. Don't
get straightened up for him. You come just like you are. Christ saves the cheap of sins. Isn't that right? It's all by
his grace and his glory. But you know, I want us to sing
tonight 249. This song, written by Charlotte
Elliott, was written at the turn of the 19th century, way back
in the 1800s, before they ever started giving these altar calls.
When she wrote that song, just as I am, without one plea, but
that thy blood was shed for me, O Lamb of God, I come to thee,
just as I am, and waiting not to rend my soul of one dark blot
to thee, whose blood can cleanse each spot, O Lamb of God, I come,
just as I am. Let's sing that as it closes,
as we close. Now that's how we come to Christ,
just like we are. And He robes us, like I talked
about this morning. He adorns us. He makes us. to be beautiful in his beauty.
All right, let's sing that. Come lead us if you would, Terry. We'll stand while we sing. Just as I am without one plea,
but that thou didst worship for me, and that thou didst...

God's Preachers And God's People

What does the Bible say about God's preachers?

How do we know the gospel is God's message?

Why is the concept of being God's bondservant important for Christians?

What does Romans teach us about God's purpose in salvation?

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God's Preachers And God's People

What does the Bible say about God's preachers?

How do we know the gospel is God's message?

Why is the concept of being God's bondservant important for Christians?

What does Romans teach us about God's purpose in salvation?

Sermon Transcript

About Henry Mahan

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